Eagles welcome Sharks in the Championship
BBL Championship preview – Friday 20th January 2012
Newcastle Eagles v One Health Sharks Sheffield
Sheffield Sharks make the journey to the north east on Friday anticipating a tough end to their January fixture programme.
The Sharks visit newly-crowned BBL Cup winners Newcastle Eagles, triumphant from their 115-94 victory over Plymouth Raiders. The Eagles sit proudly at the head of the BBL table with an 11/1 record and look a good bet for success in all four BBL competitions.
Sharks Coach Atiba Lyons looked angered with his side’s 78-80 loss at home to Guildford, which again came in trying circumstances. Present at courtside were Guard Jimmy Langhurst and Forward Justin Dobbins, both in civvies and unable to take part for differing reasons. Langhurst, despite being back in the UK is awaiting visa clearance whereas Dobbins is still reporting visits to the chiropractor for back problems. Add to this the departure of Director of Basketball Tim Lewis for financial reasons, then it hasn’t been the best of weeks for the Sheffield camp.
The defeat against the Heat again saw the Sharks having to use a six man rotation. It wasn’t all doom and gloom for the Yorkshire side; Zac Gachette made an exciting start to the game, putting up early points in an energetic performance. The young Guard was unlucky to hit early foul trouble due to some indifferent officiating when a productive display looked on the cards. This was symptomatic of the night as Nate Reinking managed 19 scores despite some ‘robust’ defence from the Guildford side. The Sharks maintained dominance of the fixture well into the third period and it was a late slump that appeared to anger Coach Lyons the most.
Off the court difficulties aside, Sheffield get an early look at their BBL Trophy semi-final opponents in Newcastle, followed by the visit of joint leaders Worcester Wolves the following week. The addition of Langhurst, Dobbins or both would be an added fillip to a side that has shown it can compete with the best even when stretched numerically.
The superlatives thrown at Sheffield’s opponents on Friday are not without merit. Fabulous Flournoy’s men look unstoppable in the league and must rank as favourites for the Trophy and Playoffs to add to last Sunday’s BBL Cup success. The Sharks must be wary of the three point threat the Eagles pose. Charles Smith’s 39 points in the final demonstrated his shooting ability with a similar proposition coming from Joe Chapman and Paul Gause.
Flournoy himself despite his advancing years remains productive in the Forward position and the signing of Andrew Thomson from Mersey Tigers was a particularly canny piece of business. Newcastle look the complete ball team in the BBL at the moment and it will take every inch of Atiba Lyons coaching ability to bring away the points from Sport Central.
One thing is for sure. Entertainment is guaranteed when these two sides meet and those present for the 7.30pm tip off are in for a real treat.
